Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday pleaded for the joint support of the European Union and the United States once US President-elect Donald Trump retakes office.

"We need very much the unity between the United States and the EU, and the countries of Europe. This is very important," Zelensky said at an EU leaders' meeting in Brussels which he attended as a guest.

"We need this unity to achieve peace," he said, adding that only together could the US and Europe "really stop [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and save Ukraine."

Ukraine is under increasing pressure as its armed forces face a difficult situation in eastern Ukraine and the possibility that Trump could try to push Kiev and Moscow into peace talks.

Zelensky said he plans to discuss Washington's support with Trump once he is back in office, acknowledging that having to do without US help would be "very difficult."

"I think that President Trump is a strong man, and I want very much to have him on our side," said Zelensky, adding they share "the same emotions and the same values."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke to US President-elect Donald Trump on the phone on the fringes of the EU summit.

"I have spoken to the US president, and I would like to say that I am quite confident that the US, like Europe, will continue its support for Ukraine," he said.

After more than 1,000 days of war and growing discussion of how the conflict could be ended, EU leaders continued to stress their commitment to help Ukraine in its defence against Russia's invasion.

"The killing must come to an end. We have to get to a situation where peace is possible," Scholz said.

For Scholz this means more military aid for Ukraine and no decisions without Kiev's consent.

"The only way to get lasting and just peace is to put Ukraine in a position of strength," said Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, whose country shares a border with Russia.

"That means that Ukraine needs assistance, money, weapons, air defence, everything we can provide, everything Europe and the States can [provide]."

"Any push for negotiations to soon will actually be a bad deal for for Ukraine," warned EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas.

"All the other actors in the world are carefully watching how we act in this case, and therefore we really need to be strong," she stated.

EU leaders promised in a statement to increase military aid, including the delivery of air defence systems, ammunition and missiles, as well as more training and equipment for Ukraine's army.

European leaders also got ready to take on more responsibility for Ukraine's fate once Trump is back in office.

Zelensky thanked France for its initiative for a military contingent in Ukraine as a security guarantee and called other leaders to join efforts.

Scholz said a detailed discussed on how to secure a potential peace deal was premature, but that any solution should be "structured transatlantically."

The Ukrainian president met with EU leaders a day after he joined NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and some European leaders in Brussels to discuss further military support and potential security guarantees from European countries in the event of a peace deal in the Ukraine war.

The Ukrainian president stressed amid the public speculation about a potential ceasefire "that the European guarantees won't be sufficient for Ukraine" without the support of the US and insisted that no decisions are taken unless Trump is on board.

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